Patriot position battles: Tight end

By Os Davis  |   Monday, May 26, 2008  |  Comments( 1 )

New England Patriots
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Though the New England Patriots can boast of a fourth AFC title this decade, a storied regular season for the ages, and their current alpha-dog position as favorites to take the Lombardi Trophy in 2009 ... well, nobody’s perfect. As with all 32 franchises, the Patriots have at least a few spots on the roster up for grabs.

Today, a look at a quintet of guys competing for a couple of roster spots at tight end.

Conventional (and RF365) wisdom had the Patriots selecting a TE at some point during the 2008 NFL Draft, what with the overwhelming tendency to have done so throughout Bill Belichick's time in New England: In six of seven previous drafts, New England has called the name of a tight end. Just goes to show the futility of guessing The Hooded One’s next step ... either that or with such a bumper crop of the boys, Belichick & Co. merely decided to spin the wheel in camp; after all, there are still a few third-stringers left over from years past.

At the top of the heap today, of course, is Ben Watson. A former first-rounder, Watson struggled with an ankle injury in the latter half of the 2007 season. This is a bit of a recurring motif in Watson’s career, as Patriot backers may recall that he went from bonus-baby signing to the IR in six weeks in 2004. Having not suited up for the only two New England Super Bowl appearances in his tenure, few Pats will be as motivated for a chance at the big dance as Watson.

Should Watson actually put in a full season, this could be his contract year. In 2006 – or, as Patriots fans may refer to it, “The Year of the Three-TE Set” – Watson hauled in some 49 catches for 643 yards in 13 games, making him the second-best receiver on the team that year. And despite his on-again/off-again 2007 in which he started just eight games, Watson still managed a career-high six TDs for the high-flying Pats. Figure Watson to break all his individual marks this season if he can stay healthy.

(Incidentally, the Patriots’ current three-WR, one-TE lineup would include the game’s best deep threat in Randy Moss, slot man extraordinaire Wes Welker, the sneaky Jabar Gaffney and Watson. How do you defend that?)

Presumably No. 2 on the depth chart will be (or was to be) Marcus Pollard. Pollard represents a free-agent signing which instinct says is a bit of a gamble, but Belichick mystique implies this could be one of the most astute moves of the NFL offseason.

Pollard’s career stats look like you’d expect from a guy with 13 years’ worth of NFL experience: 191 games, 133 starts; 349 receptions for 4,280 yards and a 12.3 YPC average; 40 touchdowns; 57 special teams tackles. Most of Pollard’s career was spent with the Indianapolis Colts of Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning, giving New England a little informational bonus: The TE spent 10 seasons with the Colts before leaving the team before the 2005 season (D’oh!) to join the Detroit Lions (D’oh! D’oh!).

But. This word came down last week from the Providence Journal: "Marcus Pollard wasn't moving too well. The veteran tight end seemed stiff, and there was a hitch in his walk. He did have a knee injury with Seattle last season."

Suddenly rather than seeming like an ageless Junior Seau, a bargain addition for the offense, it now feels like retirement is Pollard’s top option at present. Or at least a long, long rest. (What was he doing working out with the team after all that recent nasty knee surgery, anyway? The guy is 36...)

Meanwhile, poor David Thomas awaits his second chance at glory with the Patriots. Drafted 86th overall in 2006, the blue-collar kinda guy worked his way up to a little regular playing time in his rookie season, culminating in a Christmas Eve performance against Jacksonville that saw Thomas grab five catches (including a diving 22-yard TD reception for the first points of his NFL career).

In 2007, though, the old bugaboo of NE TEs hit: injury. Thomas went on the IR in October. Though Thomas should probably be considered a favorite to earn a spot on the Pats' roster, he will again have to fight his way up the depth chart. By Week 16, he may be starting.

Question: Who is this Stephen Spach guy? The record says that he broke onto the Fresno State Bulldogs roster as a walk-on in 2000. By the end of his senior year, Spach had become known as perhaps the top blocking TE in the Western Athletic Conference and was twice named Academic All-WAC. And then ... nothing.

Spach kicked around a bit with the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings over the next three years (in fact, in 2006, Spach was listed as OOF – out of football – altogether), landing on his feet with the Pats. Thanks to the critical mass of injuries at the position toward the end of 2007, Spach saw action in three December games and the playoffs. He didn’t look too shabby, either, but a little special teams work won’t guarantee him a job this year. Will it be another run on a practice squad for Spach or can he sneak his way back as a blocking specialist? Belichick does have a thing for the brainiacs ...

Perhaps realizing it was looking at a bumper crop of tight end candidates in April's draft, New England's brain trust eschewed all comers at the position and instead waited around for the free agents. The stratagem resulted in camp invites for Jonathan Stupar and Tyson DeVree, a pair of players from TE-happy schools.

DeVree had an excellent 2007 for the Colorado Buffaloes after a college career of fits and starts; he missed one year because of transfer from Western Michigan and suffered a hip injury in early 2006. All was forgotten in 2007, though, as DeVree played in 12 of the Buffaloes’ 13 games. The line says he hauled in 37 catches for 402 yards and eight TDs, the last a school record for the position. And with so many two-TE sets thrown out there by the 2007 Buffaloes, DeVree produced 22 first downs on his 37 catches, including 15 on third down – some nice clutch play there.

If Stupar makes the team, meanwhile, it’ll foremost make for one heck of a human interest story. Back in 2004, early in his freshman season with the Virginia Cavaliers, Stupar was diagnosed with a potentially fatal heart condition. Talk about your comebacks: After undergoing heart surgery, Stupar came all the way back to a starting position on the team and putting together a nice college career.

Stupar ultimately started eight games (and played in all his senior year, which gave him 40 catches for 359 yards and two TDs in scads of two- and three-TE sets. Patriots tight end coach Pete Mangurian reportedly worked out Stupar in February in Virginia and found Stupar to be a potential great fit for the Pats’ system.

At minicamp, Stupar is hard at work in studying up on the Patriots’ system and is performing well. This kid just may stick around. After all, he’s got heart. (Sorry.)

Breaking it down throughout the year at RealFootball365.com
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About Os Davis

Os Davis has taken a twisted route to get to RealFootball365.com in his nearly 17 years in professional writing, working in any number of capacities in the sportswriting, news reporting and film criticism worlds. In print media, Os has served as editor at a few publications, including Albuquerque's...
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